Clout Gang

The Clout Gang was originally established when Desiree Beck, Lucas Diaz, Sean Leibowitz, and Thomas Buckley linked up early in the first day of the version. At this time, the group consisted of only these four, and their relationship was at times tense and fraught. They were dubbed semi-ironically by Lucas, and while the name saw some push-back at first, it ultimately stuck, winning greater or lesser acceptance from the others.

The four students traveled together throughout the first day, and on the second connected with Zachary Beck, the sole survivor of a misunderstanding-turned-massacre, and a friend of Sean's. The reunion proved less than joyful, however, as Desiree was shot and killed by a long-range shot from Erika Stieglitz, initially intended for Thomas. Desiree's death brought tensions within the group to an unavoidable boil, leading to the departure of Lucas; at the same time, Princess McQuillan joined up. Zach fled the next morning before his killing of Bree Jones could be announced.

At this point, the Clout Gang journeyed semi-aimlessly, until encountering Sakurako Jackson, who had met Lucas on the first day and still had some components of his assigned weapon, a set of toy Minecraft gear. Before long, the group was set upon by Teresa Rojas, and in the ensuing chaos Sakurako's leg was badly injured by a bear trap while Princess became separated, though Teresa was driven off.

The remnants of the original Clout Gang followed Sakurako back to her allies, where they touched on the escape plot the group hoped to execute. The Gang distanced themselves in case of disaster, which indeed came to pass, though they would not learn of it for some time. As they waited, they had a tense encounter with Violet Schmidt, and were rejoined by Zach.

In the meantime, Lucas had ended up joining forces with Princess and Katelynne Kirkpatrick, and the trio had encountered (and helped nurse back to health) Tyrell Lahti, Erika's boyfriend. These four formed a new branch of the Clout Gang, and holed up in the temple, though occasional excursions occurred. Notably, Princess and Tyrell both left on personal missions at one stage, during which time Lucas, attempting to clear the premises of corpses, threw the body of Kyle Harrison down a hill, where it startled Violet as she confronted the other Clout Gang; this is as close as the two branches came to reuniting.

The original Clout Gang set out for the town, but soon tragedy struck. Zach's generally shifty behavior led to a confrontation with Sean and Thomas, in which he lashed out, striking Sean, and then fled. Sean took a moment for space and was picked off by Justin Greene, who also seriously wounded Thomas; the next day, Thomas asked Sakurako to kill him in hopes it might help her survive. After much convincing, she acquiesced, leading to the effective dissolution of this branch of the Gang.

Lucas' faction fared little better. While Tyrell managed to kill Lorenzo Tavares, he sustained even more injuries in the process, and while Katelynne tracked down and retrieved Princess, the other girl had also been badly injured. Frustrated by the pace and by being cooped up, Lucas took Tyrell's collar tracker and set out to hunt down Erika himself. Tyrell, following an encounter with Diego Larrosa, went after Lucas. Lucas succeeded in finding Erika, but hesitated after wounding her, allowing her to kill him. Tyrell came upon the aftermath, but was mortally wounded in a fight with Claudeson Bademosi, and perished as he spoke with a returning Diego.

Back at the temple, Katie and Princess met up with Nick Ogilvie and Marco Hart, and passed a generally pleasant evening together, but overnight Princess succumbed to her illness and wounds, bringing an end to this side of the Clout Gang as well.